Logan (15 page)

As his caregiver wheeled the old bastard out of his flat, Gavin left the hall and went to his library. He watched as they helped the man into his Rolls and then drove away.
 

He thought when he got into this he knew what he was doing it for…now he wasn’t sure.
 

He headed over to the whiskey and poured himself two fingers. Years of planning were in place. They had always known from the start that the Clan would find their way to the diary. For decades, the McWaltons had been ready.
 

Gavin had been told early in life what his role would be. He had accepted it, understood it, but now…
 

He should be focused on destroying the McLennans. Instead, he was thinking about the way Anice looked when she smiled.
 

Logan left Meg sleeping in bed and made his way downstairs in search of some coffee. He’d been a coffee lover since his first trip to Italy years earlier. A very sexy patron had introduced him to cappuccino. He had been a fan ever since.
 

He stepped into the kitchen and found Maggie there, sitting at the table. Silverware danced in the air around her, as she moved her hands back and forth. She was faced away from him, so she didn’t see him. Logan watched the parade of silver and smiled. The witches didn’t practice their Magick in front of them that much. He assumed it was because they worried that it would upset them in some way.
 

As he continued to watch, he had to admire her concentration. One knife was parallel to the ground and spun like a top.
 

He must have shifted his weight, because the floor beneath him creaked and all the silverware dropped to the table with a clatter.
 

She turned around and gave him a dirty look. “Really, Logan, quit lurking.”
 

“Ooch, I’m sorry.” He shook his head trying to clear it. His ears were still ringing. “That was bloody loud.”
 

Maggie gave him a look he’d seen her give Jack a time or two.
 

“Serves you right.” She smiled. “I made coffee.”
 

He smelled it then, the rich, deep scent of roasted beans. “Thank God.”
 

He grabbed a mug and went to pour himself some coffee.
 

“I was doing so well before you showed up,” she said pouting.
 

He’d dealt with Anice for long enough to know that it was better to ignore the pout. “Where is my brother?”
 

“He ran out to pick up some fresh bread. I’m going to weigh another stone before we get back to Scotland, but I will not regret it. How can I? Fresh French bread in the morning…you have to be insane not to love it.”
 

He smiled. “You barely weight more than a feather, Maggie.”
 

And that was the truth. His sister-in-law was a tiny woman, even after having a son. Her slight stature was deceptive though. He didn’t know many women as tough as his new sister-in-law.
 

“Thank you.” She narrowed her green eyes as she looked at him. “Why are you even out of bed?”
 

He loved her. She was straight forward and sometimes a little blunt. And perfect for his brother. Logan smiled, not even trying to hide his happiness. “Meg’s sleeping.”
 

“Ah.”
 

He watched as she drank her coffee. He wanted to know more about Meg, but he wanted to be careful not to cross any lines. He hesitated for a second and the crafty witch picked up on it.
 

“What?”
 

“I’d like to ask you a few questions about her past but only what you are comfortable with answering. “
 

She held out her cup and he filled it to the brim. “Okay.”
 

“Meg seemed to get really upset when I yelled at her last night.”
 

She smiled. “Women tend to do that.”
 

He rolled his eyes. “No. She seemed genuinely…” He searched for a word and the one he found made him uncomfortable. “She seemed frightened.”
 

 Maggie took a sip of her coffee and studied him. “You were shouting?”
 

“Yes. Well, we always shout.”
 

She smiled, then it faded. “Meg’s told you a little bit about her childhood, I assume.”
 

He nodded.
 

“I loved her father. He was a force of nature, that one. But there was always a dark side there. One that seemed to be enhanced with the number of pints he tossed back.”
 

“Was he Magickal?”
 

Maggie shook her head. “Not really. He had some abilities, but they were so watered down. Her father’s side of the family didn’t exercise their powers for anything but con jobs. Her mother was the real talent in the relationship, from what her father said.”
 

“So, he used her powers to con people. And Meg’s,” Logan said with disgust.
 

“Oh, don’t go all high and mighty on me now, Logan McLennan,” Maggie said with a little heat in her voice. “I did the same. Sometimes, you have to work with what you have. And, I know that they never really conned good hard working folks. Her father was particular about who they worked the con on. Very particular. He researched their marks.”
 

He filed that bit of information away for another day. He had a theory about how Meg had met up with Morin all those years ago, but he wanted to know more about that haunted look he had seen in her eyes the night before.
 

 “So, back to that dark side.”
 

Maggie made a face. “Her father was a drinker. And when he drank too much, he got a little too free with his slaps.”
 

Logan had always been slow to anger, but apparently not where Meg was concerned. It rolled through his blood, burned a hole in his gut.
 

“Now, don’t look like that.” Maggie shook her head. “Bollocks, I shouldn’t have told you.”
 

“No. It’s important.”
 

“Meg never really told me. I just know that there were times we would see each other and she would have a bruise here and there. I didn’t ask because she didn’t say anything.”
 

“And why didn’t you ask? What kind of friend are you?”
 

“The kind who was getting knocked around just as much or more than she was. We didn’t have an easy life, Logan. I know that most of you have no idea what this is like, or maybe you don’t remember when you were on the run, but all of us, Meghan, Serena, and I, all had no real family. We were on our own much earlier than we should have been. The one thing that Meg had going for her was that she had her father until he died.”
 

“She was lucky to have an abusive bastard as a father?”
 

Maggie shook her head. “Oh, you five are so hard headed. You might have been on the run very early in your life, Logan, but you all had each other. We have never known what it is like to be without a support system. You have been together for all this time, but when push came to shove, the only person Meg had was her father. He might have been a drunkard, but he also loved her unconditionally. You don’ know how rare that is until you live a life without it.”
 

He couldn’t fathom life without his brother and his cousins. They had lived through dark times. Losing their family, their Clan, but they always had each other. Even in those first days as Callum fought to live on that horrible seaside voyage to the Continent they had all leaned on each other.
 

“And so, when we all shout at each other, Meg is okay with it. But since you were directing your irritation at her, she was nervous.”
 

“I’d never raise a hand to her.”
 

“Meg doesn’t think you will either, but years of conditioning makes it hard on her.”
 

She rose and rinsed out her cup, as Logan slowly digested everything he had heard.
 

“She really cares for you, Logan. Please, don’t let her down. So many men have in the past.”
 

Maggie gave him a pat on the arm.
 

“Now, I have some more practicing to do, because we have a jewel to steal tonight.”
 

He motioned with his mug. “Magick doesn’t bother me, Maggie. Go right ahead.”
 

She smiled and sat at the table. “Let me show you how I used to get out of paying for a check at a restaurant.”
 

He laughed and sat at the opposite side of the table from her. “If you know how to do that, why aren’t you doing that when we go out to eat?”
 

She laughed. “Your stodgy older brother doesn’t allow me.”
 

She started to bring the silverware to life again when his mobile rang. He saw the number and answered immediately.
 

“Phoebe, is everything alright?”
 

“Oh yes. I’m sorry to alarm you. I was up working on the diary and thought I should call you.”
 

He looked at the time. “It’s very early there.”
 

“Yes, well, the next McLennan is as much of a pain as the rest of you. He was doing flip flops all night.”
 

There was grumble in the background that told Logan his cousin was right there by her side.
 

“Oh, stop. I am not going to argue about the sex of the baby. You are drinking coffee in front of me and that is just rude.”
 

He chuckled. “Now, what did you need, love?”
 

“There is a passage here that is all about trust, fear, and danger. I sense there is something we have missed.”
 

“What?”
 

“I am not sure, but I am worried about tonight. Is anyone else there?”
 

“Maggie. Meg’s still in bed and Angus is out.”
 

“Could you put me on the speaker so I can get her opinion too?”
 

He clicked the button. “You’re on the speaker.”
 

“Good morning, Maggie.”
 

“Morning, Phoebe. What’s going on?”
 

“Do you think there is someone else after the jewel? Do you sense another force there close by?”
 

Maggie frowned. “I’ve not sensed anything. And I know Meg hasn’t or she would have said so.”
 

“Just last night I found a passage that made me think we might be missing a key element.”
 

“What did it say?” Logan asked.
 

“For as the four united in blood and love work to complete their task, darkness surrounds them. Hidden from prying eyes, evil festers and boils, waiting to strike and destroy.”
 

Silence filled the room. He didn’t know what to say, especially since that sounded worse than he had expected.
 

“Well, that sounds horrible,” Meg said from the doorway. He hadn’t heard her arrive.
 

“Oh, Meg, good,” Phoebe said, her relief was easy to hear over the phone. “Your opinion is what I need. You know Morin. Do you think he might be Magickal?”
 

She snorted. “The man is a lot of things, but Magickal is not one of him. Still, there might be someone in his entourage who is. Pierre always had to have women and lesser men around him. It made him feel better about himself.”
 

She repeated it as if she had been given a report and Logan had his answer. Her father must have done some Intel on Morin, and she had that information before coming to Paris.
 

“And you put up with a man who kept women around?” Maggie asked.
 

“When I was with him, those others weren’t around. And I can guarantee if the women had been, they would be gone by now,” Meg said. “Morin doesn’t like a woman over twenty-five.”
 

“What about the men?” Phoebe asked.
 

“That’s a good question, “ Logan commented. “He seems like someone who would keep a special assistant around for a longer amount of time.”
 

Meg nodded. “He had Andre when I was with him. I didn’t sense anything about him but that doesn’t mean anything.  I wasn’t in the best place, considering what had just happened.”
 

“Just make sure you keep an eye out tonight. It could be someone you didn’t meet all those years ago. That’s one of the things about this diary. It speaks in riddles.”
 

“Speaking of riddles, Jack said everything is fine when I talked to him yesterday,” Maggie said. “Is that true?”
 

Phoebe chuckled. “Everything is fine. He and Fletcher have been having fun together doing man things.”
 

“Bloody hell, don’t let him go on a pub crawl with that man. He’ll never be the same.”
 

“Don’t worry. What? Oh, Callum wants to talk to you.”
 

The phone jostled around. “I don’t know why she wouldn’t put it on the speaker on this end,” his cousin grumbled into the phone.
 

Phoebe said something in the background. “I do not take over every conversation, Sassenach.”
 

Meg and Maggie shared a smile.
 

“I want you to get your arses out of there tonight. It’s best to make sure that you aren’t within his reach for a while.”
 

“Won’t that look suspicious?” Logan asked.
 

 The front door opened and Angus called out. “We’re in the kitchen, love,” Maggie said.
 

He joined them, but his smile faded when he saw their expressions.
 

“Who are you talking to?”
 

“Callum and Phoebe,” Maggie said.
 

“Can I finish what I was saying so I can get my bride back to bed?” he growled. “What did you ask, Logan?”